Earlier this season, there was every expectation the “Baby Mets” would become a thing.

At the time, Brett Baty was producing at a respectable level after his recall from Triple-A Syracuse — joining Francisco Alvarez as a threat — and Mark Vientos had delivered a few big hits for the Mets.

Things haven’t worked out quite as well as hoped.

Yes, Alvarez, with 19 homers, carried his end of the bargain as a top MLB rookie, but Vientos received limited chances and was demoted. And Baty struggled for a significant portion of the first half, raising questions about whether he was major-league ready.

But the past few games have seen the conversation about Baty return to idea that he’s ready to help the Mets win now. The rookie third baseman homered in consecutive games this week against the White Sox and looked sharp defensively, helping fuel a brief three-game winning streak that ended with Thursday’s 6-2 loss to the White Sox.

It’s important to remember Baty is still only 23 years old and ideally would have spent at least the first half of this season at Syracuse receiving at-bats and reps defensively.

But Eduardo Escobar’s early struggles, coupled with Baty’s hot start in Triple-A, made the decision easy for the Mets only a few weeks into the season. Escobar has since been traded to the Angels.

Even with his recent surge, Baty is producing at a disappointing .235/.300/.361 clip offensively with seven homers and 24 RBIs in 71 games while falling prey to occasional defensive lapses, most notably the pop-up he misplayed Saturday against the Dodgers that bounced and hit him in the face.

Baty’s past few games have at least cooled any immediate thoughts he might need a stint in the minors.

As dramatic as that option may seem, it isn’t without recent precedent.

In 2016, the Mets sent another former first-round pick, Michael Conforto, back to Triple-A as he struggled at the plate. Conforto had appeared in the World Series for the Mets the previous year and had a sizzling start to the next season for the club. Then he just stopped hitting.

“All of a sudden, [Conforto] just got power-happy and tried to pull everything instead of using that gift he had, that power to left-center field,” former Mets manager Terry Collins said. “Then teams started feeding him a steady diet of breaking balls. He went through a rough streak, and we sent him back. That was really tough for him. And he went down and played pretty well, and came back and struggled a little bit again. But it’s all part of the process and you have to go through it.”

Baty’s leash also might be a little longer given that the Mets are hesitant to play Vientos at third base and would prefer to keep Luis Guillorme in a utility role.

Now the team will see if Baty is capable of again helping generate some of the “Baby Mets” buzz that resonated ever so briefly in the early season.

Want to catch a game? The Mets schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.

The Mets completed their most recent homestand by wearing their blue jerseys in a third straight game. The team wears black jerseys for Friday home games, so where does that leave the traditional pinstriped uniforms?

Francisco Lindor previously said he was a proponent of the blue jerseys, but he would like them to remain as the alternate uniform and not the mainstay.

It is the starting pitcher for each game, though, who gets to choose the jersey.

“Every starter likes the blue now,” Lindor said.

Justin Verlander ranked the Mets’ pinstriped uniforms third on his list, behind the blues and Friday night blacks.

“I don’t mind the pinstripes, but I think some guys are a little ‘eh’ on the pinstripes,” Verlander said. “I’ve pitched pretty well in the blue, so it’s definitely the blue for me.”

Verlander, like many players, is superstitious, and noted that as long as the Mets had a winning streak going with the blue jerseys, they shouldn’t change garb.

The Mets also have alternate caps, and Verlander noticed that he was wearing the wrong one Tuesday as he sat in the dugout, the night before his start. But once the Mets scored five runs in the first inning, he decided to stay with it.

“I am not good with all these options,” Verlander said. “I like the same thing over and over again.”

???? Join us on Monday, July 24, for a live episode of the New York Post baseball podcast The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman previewing next week’s Subway Series. This special event is free for all in attendance. Doors open at 5 p.m. at The Ainsworth (45 East 33rd St.) with the program starting at 6.

The “quick” pitch timer at Citi Field during this week’s series against the White Sox was enough of a concern to the Mets that the team, after reviewing the video, asked the umpiring crew to broach the subject with the clock operators. (The clock operators are employed by MLB, and communicate exclusively with the umpires.)

In one instance, Brandon Nimmo was called for a violation despite the fact the clock started during a replay review. That violation was overturned following a protest from Buck Showalter.

The manager is aware that all pitch timing is not equal.

“We have a scouting report on one city that’s known for being faster,” Showalter said.

Showalter declined to name that city.

Let’s review how some recent Mets alumni have fared this season.

Javier Baez: His last real hurrah might have been his two-month stint with the Mets after arriving at the trade deadline in 2021. The veteran infielder underwhelmed last season with the Tigers after signing a six-year contract worth $140 million, and this year has completely nosedived with a .224/.261/.333 slash line with seven homers and 46 RBIs.

J.D. Davis: As the first anniversary of his trade to the Giants approaches on Aug. 1, the former Mets DH (and third baseman and left fielder) is continuing to thrive. He has put up a .268/.348/.431 slash line with 12 homers and 35 RBIs for a team contending for the NL West title.

Daniel Murphy: The former Mets postseason hero, after coming out of retirement this season and playing with the Long Island Ducks, owns a respectable .798 OPS through 20 games for the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City. Could a major league return be looming?

Dominic Smith: The first baseman, who was non-tendered by the Mets after last season, is receiving regular playing time with the Nationals. But that hasn’t helped Smith regain the form he displayed earlier in his Mets career. Smith has a disappointing .267/.335/.353 slash line with five homers and 23 RBIs.

Noah Syndergaard: The right-hander is on a minor-league rehab assignment with the Dodgers in his return from a blister on his right index finger. He last pitched for the Dodgers on June 7, and owns a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts for the club this season.